Yikes

Has it really been so long since my last post?? Yikes, time really does fly by. Anyway, back to my rundown. Sunday I had the External Greek Review, which was a large discussion retreat for the executive councils of each Greek organization on campus. I had to facilitate a session as an executive member of Order of Omega, and that was scary. It wasn't bad, and I got to do it with Sushi, who's Brandon's little. That was pretty cool. Then I ate chapter dinner. It was pretty yummy. It was Halloween themed food, so for an appetizer, they made apple slices and shoved pretzel sticks into the slice, and then put marshmallows onto the sticks for eyeballs. Well, I don't really like marshmallows so I took them off. Then for dessert they made dirt dessert, pudding that looks like dirt. Well, they put gummy bears in it to say it was a gummy bear graveyard. Well, I don't really like gummy bears and chocolate together, so I picked out the gummy bears. Monica (my new child) was sitting next to me. When we were all done eating, one of the other sisters laughed at us because I had marshmallows and gummy bears on my plate, and Monica had marshmallows and gummy bears on her plate! It was pretty funny.

Monday I went to work (both the bookstore and HR) and classes. Then I had meeting and laundry. Tuesday I went to HR work, and then went to a LEAN thinking presentation for work. It's pretty interesting, and I'm really excited as this job progresses. Then I went to classes, and then work at the Bookstore since they were short staffed. After that I went to a HuskyLead, which was really fun since it was about marketing and how to better present your organizations. Then I had an Order of Omega meeting. When I got home, I did my dish day and cleaned up the kitchen. Wednesday I went to classes and then came home and slept. It wasn't a very good day. Then I woke up to register. I'm really excited about my schedule for next semester. Thursday I went to work and then classes. After classes I had an Order of Omega meeting again, and then after that I went to the house for an Alph Gam function.

Friday I only had classes. Then at six I went with my sisters to Sigma Rho, one of the fraternities, for a dinner they made us. I guess one of our sisters has a resident who's pledging to their fraternity and decided that it would be fun or something. But we had lasagna and it was good. Then I came back and sat around. Saturday I had work, at which I did some homework. Shh. Then after that I went to Walmart with Taylor and Monica to pick out fabric for family letters. It took us an hour. Haha but we also made dinner when we got back, spaghetti... yum! It was a lot of fun. Sunday I had to help facilitate the Greek New Member Orientation. I think it went really well, though none of the new members particularly looked happy or thrilled haha. We hadn't expected them to be very happy or enthusiastic though. After that Alph Gams started I-week, a week of rituals to initiate our new members into our fraternity. Monday I went to work at the Bookstore and then classes. After institutions I came home, ate something quick, and then headed to my HR job. Then we had meeting and I had laundry. Then more Alph Gam stuff at night.

Tuesday, yesterday  I went to work in the morning. I met the other woman that I'll be working with/for too. Then I went to classes. After classes I hung out on campus, studying for my institutions exam. At six, I went to an STC speaker series in Walker. It was a speaker who spoke about internships. It was really interesting, and I got a lot out of it. At that presentation, I set up a time to meet with him today. After that presentation, I had an Order of Omega meeting again. We opened nominations for next year's e-board and chose new members. I am nominated for president. Yikes! Then I came home and hung out with Monica for a bit, since she had gotten out of her new member meeting. Then I studied for an hour for my exam.

Today, I'll talk about later.

Today

Well, let's see. Monday I went to work, then classes, and then Alph Gam meeting. We got our Alph Gam cards, which have discounts to local restaurants. Each of us has to sell thirty. I went over to the DU house and sold a lot. Then I walked around with Margaret to a few other Greek houses. We sold several. After that I did some laundry. Tuesday I went into my new job! It was so exciting, I was introduced around and showed around. Then Cat and I talked more about what was expected of me and stuff. Then after that I came home, ate lunch, and then went to classes. After classes I had a meeting for Order of Omega. Then I came home. I walked around with Beka to yet more Greek houses. Wednesday I went to work and then classes. At noon I had a study date with my child. Then I went to class. I didn't feel well, so I went home and slept the day away after that.

Thursday was a pretty good day. I went to HR work and had my first "real" day. I got to research a bunch of websites for other schools and compare them to one of our pages. Then I went to campus. I stopped by Subway on my way to campus and got a sub. I didn't get to eat it until after my meeting though. I met with the advisor for Panhel with my group to discuss our plans for the external Greek review on Sunday. I ate my sub afterward and then went to classes. Then I went home and tried to sleep. I couldn't fall asleep. Then we had Meet the Greeks for my kid's class. It was fun. We ended up at DU playing charades. It was a lot of fun.

Friday I woke up and went to work. Then class, then I sat in Fisher for an hour, and then went to my Institutions class. We watched a short movie that was pretty funny. It was an old tv ad for kitchen appliances. After that I headed to Subway again to eat lunch/dinner. I got a spicy Italian sub this time, with lettuce, onion, green pepper, and banana pepper! It wasn't bad either. I liked the pepperoni. Then I headed to HR work. I finished up the website research and made some mock-up designs for the new one. When I came home I did Fran's dish day, since we switched this week. She went out of town this weekend, so she did mine on Tuesday. Then I was texting Brandon and texting/talking to my mom for a few hours. The result, I HAVE A CAR :) It was really exciting. It's a Subaru Legacy, so it's pretty and it's a good, reliable car. After that I didn't do much, hung out and then went to bed. Today I have done laundry. That is it.

A Bit Behind

Alright so I'm way behind! Life has been a roller coaster of slow, relaxing moments and lots of frantic ones. Finally, though, here's another post.

Lets see, I'm just going to give a general overview of the big events. So the weekend after the last post. Saturday I went in to work and got to leave early since we were so slow. It wasn't too happy though, because I ended up going to the ER to have my spleen checked out and make sure the pain I was having wasn't my spleen leaking. It turns out I'm fine. Then Sunday we (Alph Gams) had our Preference Party. It was pretty good, there were 3 girls that came. No one almost fainted haha. Then right after that we went to hand out bids. After that I had our executive council meeting, during which one of the girls accepted their bid! That was exciting. After that meeting I met with the e-boards of Panhel and IFC, the two governing boards of Greek Life, female and male, respectively. Then I had chapter dinner. We did a taco salad bar. It wasn't too bad, I only had to help clean up since I hadn't been back from my meeting in time to help cook. It was sometime during the course of the day that our second girl accepted her bid, so we officially had a pledge class!

The week after that was pretty normal (ish). Monday I went to work, then class, then I had a meeting with the Order of Omega e-board before my Alph Gam meeting. After both, I did my laundry. Yay clean clothes! Tuesday I met with our advisor to talk about potential job opportunities. It was really helpful. She said she'd forward my resume and cover letter on to the Cognitive and Learning Sciences department, which is where I had applied for a job. Then I went to class. I had an e-board meeting for Order of Omega at 6, then an all-member meeting at 7. Wednesday I went to work and then class and then work again, since it was Grad Fest. It wasn't too bad, not as bad as normal. Then I went to my enterprise meeting and then home. We had our pinning ceremony, where we pinned two new members of AGD, one of which I am a sister-mother for. So I now have two kids; Taylor and Monica. Monica is a first year STC student, which was exciting for me because I'm not alone anymore! Plus she's a lot like me. There will be times when she does something and one of the sisters notices and tells me or her. It's fun.

Thursday morning I got a call for a job offer! It was from Cat, our chapter advisor to be a technical writer/web developer. I'm so excited, I really hope it works out. It's more hours than the bookstore, it pays more, I won't have to lift heavy boxes, it's within my field of study, the hours are scheduled around my schedule, perfect! Then I went to classes in a good mood. I had another meeting with Order of Omega, and then I had a meeting with my STC student chapter. We had a guest speaker come in and talk, and I got a lot out of it! She talked a lot about jobs, being/getting hired and the internet. It was well worth going. Monica went too, so that was our first mother-daughter date! Friday I went to work an hour early to work the register, then I went to classes. After my last class (which I had an exam in), I came home and packed for the weekend. Momma came up with Aunt Mona and we all went to Marquette for the weekend. It was wonderful. I really wished it would have lasted longer though. I didn't get to spend much time with either of them, since I was scrapbooking. We did go shopping though, which was really nice. I came home Sunday and said my goodbyes. Then I cleaned up after chapter dinner and went to bed!

Monday I went in to work and then classes. I met with one of our new members to get to know her, and then I met with another new member an hour later. Then I had my AGD meeting and did my laundry after. Tuesday I went to classes and came home. It was my kid's first meeting, so I talked with her when she got out and gave her a gift! She seemed to like it. Then that night was squirrel night, which was fun. I went to bed before it was over though, I was so tired! Wednesday I talked to Beckie at work and let her know about my new job. I then went to classes and came home. Thursday I met with our Leadership Consultant who got into town on Wednesday. We talked about recruitment for a while. Then I headed to classes. After that, I had my date with Monica again. We sat in the cafe in the library and she bought me a hot chocolate. It was wonderful. I just keep finding out things about her that we have in common and it's kind of weird! But awesome :) Then after that I FINALLY met up with my marketing team for class. It took me about a week and a half of email to get half of our team to show up.

Friday I went to work and then class. I then sold Alph Gam cards (discount cards to restaurants in the community). Then after that I met with my academic advisor to plan out my schedule for the spring semester. It seems pretty decent, and I found out I’m in pretty good shape for graduation! Yay! Later that night I participated in Movie Night with Sigma Tau Gamma, a fraternity across the street that also has a leadership consultant now. We watched Hocus Pocus and it was pretty fun. Saturday I did Make a Difference Day with Beka, Katelyn, and Monica. Bethany was supposed to go too, but she rolled her ankle pretty bad and was having troubles walking. Sonya was supposed to go, but she was totally MIA. So we gave her t-shirt to Monica, since she hadn’t registered but was helping us. We raked leaves. After we ran out of bags, we went to lunch at the Abassador. I got a burrito, and it was pretty darn yummy! Yesterday we had our Winter Carnival meeting, where we figured out a lot of stuff about this year’s carnival. Then we had Fall Clean-up. I got to hold leaf bags open, which was all I did Saturday. I don’t want to do anything too physically challenging for a while. Then my job was to sweep and mop the stairs. Super easy! Then I met with two people on Panhel and IFC to discuss plans for the Greek External Review. It was pretty productive. After that I went home and did some homework in the chapter room with sisters, and then ate chapter dinner. After dinner I met with another one of our new members. I only have one more I haven’t met with! So that’s my past few weeks in a nutshell!

Squeaking Through

It's been a week since my last post, to keep up with my goal of once a week I must write!

So let's see, last Wednesday is where I left off. I woke up, went to work, then class. I also brought my camera to campus, since the colors on the trees was beautiful! And in it's peak. So after Marketing, before Institutions, I walked all the way around campus, taking about 150 photos of the trees and leaves. It was a lot of fun, and I got to use my camera some more. I now have documentation of the beautiful campus I have! I went to Institutions after that and surprise, it was boring and unhelpful. After that I headed home and napped. Then I showered when I woke up, and did my house job, since Pinning was Wednesday night. I actually straightened my hair too, I was in a good mood. I used my camera that night too, I took a lot of photos, but the girls will have photo memories forever now.

Thursday was normal, I slept in, and then went to classes. Then I came home and napped. It was a rough day in that I was very tired. I also gathered leaves from the DU front yard before I headed to classes. We had a recruitment event Thursday; we made roses out of fall leaves. DU's tree had really, really red leaves. So I emailed Aaron (their president) and asked if I could take them. Of course, he said no problem. When I woke up from my nap later that night, I set stuff up and got all ready. The actual event went well. No one complained and we had a decent amount of sisters there for it not being mandatory. We also had four potential new members come. Four! I was a happy camper. I also really, really like one of them. Her name is Monica and she's a first year, wait for it... STC! Perfect! She seems really interested too, so I'm hopeful.

Friday I missed work because I was too tired to get out of bed. It's a problem. But I made it to my classes, and between the two classes, I met with Evie to go over my volunteering duties for Saturday for the open house. It was pretty simple. She also gave Sam and I (the other girl volunteering for our department) gift cards for the bookstore for volunteering! It was a wonderful surprise. Then since I hadn't made it in to work in the morning, I went in the afternoon. It worked out much better for me, and I got an extra hour! Score. Then I pretty much did nothing the entire night. It was nice.

Saturday I slept in and moseyed around a bit. Then I headed to the HDMZ to volunteer. My job was to give tours to anyone that looked like a prospective student and/or a parent. I was there from 12-3. I gave one tour. It wasn't too bad either. They came back an hour later to talk to Evie and Evie called me over to give a students view (since the prospective student is interested in STC). So I answered questions and then they left after about twenty minutes. Then I sat and talked with Evie. She said I did a really nice job talking to them, and I was proud of myself for that. Then we talked about internships and co-ops. It was fun, plus she gave me candy. So for three hours of sitting in the HDMZ and giving one tour, I got to get a LOT of homework done, a $20 gift card, free candy (Almond Joy, made me think of momma), AND I got to get on my advisor's radar and get to just sit and talk with her. It was nice. After that I headed home and did a bit more homework, then a whole lotta nothing. Relaxing is quite fun, I'm learning.

Sunday I had nothing planned until 7 pm, when I had a Blue Key meeting. I mostly hung around, did a bit of homework, spent time with sisters, etc. I also went to chapter dinner, which was chili and cornbread... yummy! Then when I got to campus, and was in the back of the room for the Blue Key meeting, I got an email that it was okay for me to step back. Yay! So now my Wednesday's are free again. Well, kinda.

Monday I dressed up for Alph Gams, and then headed to work. It was awful, as usual nowadays because I'm so tired. But I survived. Then I went to class, which was decent. Not much new there. Then I came home and dropped off my backpack, grabbed my padfolio with my resume and cover letter, switched into heels, and headed to the Harold Meese Center to drop off my job documents. I'm really hoping I get this job, so keep your fingers crossed for me! Then I came home and napped. Then ate dinner, and went to meeting. After meeting, I did my laundry and that was pretty much it. Another regular, uneventful day other than dropping off the resume and cover letter.

Tuesday I got up and headed for my two week check up at Portage Health. They did three more tests (including more blood work) to make sure my white blood cell count is good, and to see if my kidney was what was giving me pain. She also recommended that I have an ultrasound done to make sure my spleen isn't enlarged. So then I headed to class. Then my other class. After Tech Comm I talked to my professor for a good five minutes about my homework, which I wasn't sure about. I'm glad I did though, I fixed a lot of things so hopefully I'll get a better grade. After that I headed home. I took a short nap and then got ready for our recruitment event; sugar cookie decorating. I made the cookies and I was really frustrated. I didn't think I'd have enough time to cook them, the dough was too dry, we didn't have a heart shape cookie cutter. But it all ended up being okay. We had two girls come, and we all decorated a lot of squirrel and acorn shaped cookies. Then they stayed for Crazy, Stupid, Love, which we watched at eight. Monica, the pnm, asked what the next step in joining AGD is! I was so excited. Hopefully she keeps this enthusiasm through Sunday!

Then yesterday. Well, I woke up late and called the bookstore to ask if it was okay that I didn't come in. Then I slept. I slept til about 11:30, missing my first class. It didn't really matter to me though, I texted Beka and she said all he did was go over chapter 7, which I read. The rest of the day I spent doing homework. I cranked a lot of it out. Then I headed to campus around 3 to finish my homework, because our internet was down. Then I went to my enterprise class/meeting. It lasted a half hour. Then I went with Beka to pick up pnms for our rush yesterday. No one came, which was real depressing, but okay because I had time to eat dinner and relax. So it wasn't a bad day overall. 

So that's been my catch-up... stay tuned for more haha.

So Busy

So it's been more than a week since my last post, but less than two weeks, so I'm still on track. Thursday was normal with classes, then at 5 I volunteered through the STC chapter to work the registration table for the CPSTC conference, which is a conference held at MTU this year for professionals in the STC field. It was pretty fun, actually. I worked with one of the members who I went to Chicago with. Then I went home and made myself some dinner, and at 7 Alpha Gamma Delta hosted a movie night with two fraternities and a sorority (who couldn't make it). We watched UP. It was a pretty good movie, really sad when you thought about it though. Then I went to bed before they started the second movie.

Friday was normal, work, classes, free time. I actually went around campus with Beka and Kaitlyn to hand out invitations to our Preference party held on Saturday. It was pretty fun. We had to go back to several of the dorms several times because the girls weren't there in their rooms. We also drove out to Atlantic Mine, which is about twenty minutes outside Houghton. After that I made food and went to bed. I was so tired!

Saturday I helped set up for the party, and then headed to work. IT was crazy busy, and to make matters worse one of the girls I was supposed to work with called in sick, so Beckie came in and worked. But she wasn't allowed to work for me (not that I'd want her to). Right after work I headed up to the football field and tailgated with my sisters and advisor. It was pretty fun, I ate chili that was really good. Then I watched the game until halftime when I got a ride home with Bethany. They were losing anyway. That night I had traded safe drive with Beka (where we are the sister on call in case someone needs a ride home from a party), so I got to use her car. I dropped people off at a party in Hancock, and then stopped by Walmart to buy some foods that mom suggested for me. I also bought fleece. I spent the rest of the time eating healthy snacks and making my blanket. It was worth it, because it's super soft and it covers my feet!!

Sunday I had a meeting at three for Alph Gams, and then a meeting at 5:45 for Panhel and Alph Gams. We did the bid-matching and then I went back to the house for a chapter dinner. Monday I skipped classes and called in sick to work, because I was just exhausted and couldn't sleep at night for whatever reason. Then I headed to campus to officially drop my Spanish class to help free up some time to sleep. Then meeting was at 5 because bid night was at 6, which was where we (my sisters because I already knew from the meeting) found out who our new members were. Then we took them back to the house and celebrated.

Tuesday my first class was cancelled due to Career Fair, but I still went because my group met up (for our group project). It was kind of pointless. Then I went to my second class, which had almost no one there since it was Career Fair day. Then I headed to the library to do some homework. After that I headed to an informational meeting for LaFarge, one of the companies here for Career Fair. It was for my group project. Then I headed home and rested all night. Yesterday I went to work and class, and then instead of going to Spanish, I walked around campus taking photos of the fall colors. It was a lot of fun, and I got to use my camera some more! Then I went to my last class. From there I went home and napped. Then I ate when I woke up and showered, did some homework and emails. Then I got ready for our pinning ceremony, which is where the new members of AGD officially become new members. It was a lot of fun, I'm now a grandma! Taylor had a kid, Sophia, which was really exciting. I mentioned that to Michelle and she said she felt so old but proud.

I'll talk about today next post.

My Refusal Letter

(See previous blog post first!)

Cartwright Landscaping

123 Tree Blvd.

Houghton, MI 49931

September 25, 2012

Mr. Bob Walsh

34563 Rova Road

Atlantic Mine, MI 49905

Dear Mr. Walsh:

We were pleased to hear that you were satisfied with your retaining wall prior to its unfortunate collapse. I understand your desire to receive a refund due to the collapse, so I have further looked into your request. Under normal circumstances, Cartwright Landscaping ensures refunds for a period of up to five years in order to ensure our high quality standards.

After reading through your signed contract, however, I have noticed that your retaining wall was built near an un-drained marsh. It is our practice here at Cartwright Landscaping to provide the best service possible with the highest quality to you. For this reason, we suggested that you have the local marsh drained or select a new location prior to construction in order to ensure the stability of the wall. Due to the final location of your retaining wall, our company could only guarantee the stability for a one year time frame. Since your request is past the one year date, I regret to inform you that we cannot refund your purchase.

I understand that you expected the wall to last longer, and we would like to help you as much as we can. If you plan to re-build the wall, we suggest that you try a different location or have the local marsh drained.  To help offset the cost of a new wall, the blocks we used to construct your first wall can be reused since they were not damaged in the collapse.

We sincerely apologize for any inconveniences that the collapsed wall caused you, and if there is anything else we can do for you please let us know.

Sincerely,

Sara Schram

Zzzzzzz

That's all I want to do right now. Sleep.

But since I have to do office hours for Blue Key, I'll write a blog post instead.

So let's see, Sunday, I didn't do too much. I did various odds and ends for my homework in the morning and afternoon. At two, I was at the house in the process of making invitations for Alpha Gam's recruitment party this weekend (which I can't go to) when Madie came to the house. She's our Philanthropy Coordinator. Originally our Adopt-A-Highway cleanup was Saturday, but she moved it to Sunday due to weather. Since I had nothing going on, I went and helped. It was just Madie, Katelyn, and I that went. Like usual, there wasn't much to pick up, just a lot of cigarette butts and the occasional piece of trash. I photographed all the big ones so it looks like we actually clean up hehe. Then on our way back to Houghton we stopped at Burger King! I got a Whopper and ate it... wait for it... WITH tomatoes! I felt proud of myself, stepping out of my little box. It wasn't too bad either. We got home at about six, where Chapter Dinner was just about done. I went and changed into sweats and then headed down and sat with everyone else eating. I grabbed a late plate for myself too so I could eat later, since I'd just had Burger King. Then Jessi and I went to volleyball. It was a lot of fun, I think I'm actually improving! Jessi warmed up with me and gave me some tips which helped. Plus, when we played a game, I actually made 4 out of 5 serves over the net AND in-bounds! It's always a good day when that happens haha. So that was a lot of fun. After practice we went home where I showered and passed out.

Monday I dressed up in dress pants and my new blue cardigan for Dress Up Monday's. I went to work and classes, all pretty normal. Well, except Institutions. It was supposed to be a review day for our exam today. It ended up being only a half hour because all he did was answer questions, and most students didn't ask any. I certainly didn't. After that I headed home. I put in laundry and then did my house job, which was to clean the laundry and basement area. After that was done I headed upstairs. Then Beka took me to Walmart to buy brownie ingredients. When we got back I unloaded them and on my way downstairs to check my laundry, my phone rang. It was the lab calling with my last test results. Surprise, I still have mono. that really killed my mood. I spent the next hour in the laundry room, folding my clothes and using masking tape to de-lint my dark clothes. Then we had meeting, after which I called my momma.

Yesterday I went to my business class where we learned the basics of PowerPoint. It was painful. Then my Tech Comm class was actually not too bad. for whatever reason I'm never prepared for that class. Even yesterday when I got to the lab early because Business ended early, I had plenty of time to print out my work. However, I forgot I needed 3 copies of each. So I had to print those out during the first few minutes of class. Then we did peer review. The documents were technical letters, and we had to write two based on prompts. In my group, all three of us did one asking the City of Houghton to forgive a parking ticket and then two of us did a refusal of a refund for a customer for "our company". The city ones were pretty basic, but neither of the guys in my group really provided any feedback. Then when we got to the refund one, I think I blew them out of the water. The assignment was:

You received a refund claim for a refund for a retaining wall you built two years ago that collapsed. Your company usually refunds for up to five years. However, the customer insisted that the wall be built near an un-drained marsh, despite suggestions from the company. For this reason, his contract was only guaranteed for one year. You need to write a refusal letter.

 Well, the other guy who did this prompt was really not very good. He basically said "you're stupid, we're not refunding your money". I gave him a lot of criticism. Well, not a lot, but coming from me, a lot. After I read my letter they both just kind of stared at me, then at the paper, trying to find something to comment on or criticize. They didn't come up with much. I felt special. After that class I headed home and alternated between homework and preparing for our Open House. I did my dish day and made sure the kitchen was straightened up. Fran said she was going to Walmart and asked if I had everything. I said yes, and then realized I forgot the candy for the brownies. Oops. So she bought them. Then I got a few more things ready and around six realized I didn't have all the ingredients to make the brownies... I had forgotten cocoa powder. Wow I felt stupid. Sonya took me to Walmart though so it was all good. She bought milk for the event too. Then a while later I made the batter and got everything ready. The event went well, no one complained or anything. Then when it was almost over I realized I had forgotten to put the milk out. I felt SO forgetful! It's like this event was made to ruin my memory or self esteem or something. But there wasn't much I could do anyway. After I was done with my membership duties, I got ready for bed and passed out again.

This morning was AWFUL. I felt like a truck had hit me or something. I was sooo tired! I somehow managed to make it to work, where three people told me I didn't look so good, so I was allowed to go home. I said I was fine, and that I had two exams today anyway. I literally could not keep my eyes open at work, it was like my eyelids had an ulterior motive or something. But I survived. Then I went to Marketing, where I had my first exam of the semester. It was pretty easy, and it was open book, so what I didn't know or wasn't sure on, I looked up. I think I was the first one done too... I'm never sure if that's a good thing or not. Then I went to the lab and printed stuff out, including my final paper for Tech Comm tomorrow so I SHOULD be prepared for once. Then I went to Spanish class. It was okay, but I hadn't read because I hadn't had time, so I didn't offer much. Institutions was next, and it was my second exam. It seemed okay, but there was a lot I guessed on, so I'll have to wait and see.

After that I headed to the Academic Offices Building for a meeting with a professor. I ran into Emily in the library, so we ended up talking for about a half hour. Then I was still about ten minutes early for my meeting. I just kind of stood around until I was five minutes early and went in. It was basically just a get to know you meeting (it was an assignment). Then I headed to the Bookstore to ask Beckie for a favor that I don't think I'll get. Alph Gam Pref Party (a major recruitment event) is this Saturday and I'm scheduled to work. I have literally asked every student worker and no one can/will work it for me. So I asked her if I could duck out early. I doubt it'll happen, but I figured it can't hurt to ask. So I'll know Friday morning if I can or not. After that I came here to my office hours. All I have left tonight is class at 5, then membership stuff for the Open House tonight, which starts at 5 so I can't be there. Stay tuned to see how they go!

Saturdayyy

Well, where did I leave off? Wednesday nothing out of the ordinary happened. I did get all my reading done in my office hours. Then I went to class... for ten minutes. The TA (teaching assistant) listed the games we as a class will be doing but that we weren't assigned to teams yet. So yay? Thursday I hung around the house in the morning and headed out for my classes. Nothing exciting or unusual happened there. Then I got to Fisher Rotations early so that I could meet with my recruitment committee to discuss the events. It ended up being okay, so that was good. I think we'll get a good selection of girls for our open houses. I should get a list on Sunday night (tomorrow night) letting me know how many girls RSVP'd to ours. I talked to momma on my way home, and got some good news. Then when I got home, I had two packages!! It totally made my week. There were lots of goodies from home :)

Friday (yesterday) I went into work at the normal time, then to classes. Marketing had a guest speaker, and it was really boring. He was the head of the marketing department at Portage Health and just listed off a tons of information and studies they had done. Spanish was decent, I partnered up with the guy I sit next to who I've had classes with in the past semesters for a presentation thing that'll happen in a few weeks, so I hope that works out okay. Institutions was totally boring again, but I know it'll be like that for the rest of the semester. After classes I headed home and took a nap. I was so beat! When I woke up I went downstairs and hung out with two of our recent alumni, Karmen and Dani. Then a group of us went out to dinner. We were supposed to go to Bambu, which is a Chinese restaurant, but it was a three hour wait. So we went to Applebees. It was kind of weird for me though, because it was our four youngest members, our oldest member, and then Jessi and I. I don't really fit into either group. It was okay though, I got the Oriental Chicken Salad and ate the whole thing.

After that we went home and I hung out and watched TV, since the younger members went to play kickball at a fraternity house, and our older members went out somewhere. This morning I had a brunch/coffee date with a girl I met at a party last weekend (I think I mentioned her in a previous blog). It was really fun, she's traveled abroad too, and she's from Midland! Small world, huh? So I was in a good mood after that, when I went to work. I wasn't originally on the schedule, but Beckie asked if I could come in and open since the two other employees hadn't opened, closed, or really worked the register before. Since I needed hours, I said sure. So I opened and hung around the register to make sure the employee (Kristina) didn't need help. The second employee came an hour and a half late. It was kind of weird too, I was in the office, having just called Beckie (the number I had was disconnected) to let her know I was leaving in a half hour for my meeting at 2 and that the second employee hadn't shown up, when he walked into the office. Weird.

I left just before two to get to my meeting on time. It was for bid matching, a large part of formal recruitment. Then I went home and made myself some food. As I was cleaning up, there was a knock on our door, and since I was the only one home, I answered it. It was more recruitment drama, but it's in the process of being dealt with. Then I headed here to campus, where I am procrastinating my homework big time. I'll get around to it tomorrow.

Oh Boy

So lets see... last Thursday I went to classes, not much out of the usual. I did have an Order of Omega meeting though, which is my Greek Honor Society that I'm on the executive board for. It was pretty productive, and we had a large amount of our membership there, which is unusual compared to last year, but good. Then I headed to club volleyball. It was a lot of fun, I'm excited I get to play again. Thursday was special because every time I served, not only did the ball go OVER the net, but it was in-bounds! I felt special. Friday was pretty average, work, then classes. I actually skipped my institutions class so I could head up to the doctors office a bit early. When I got there I called and talked to momma. After my appointment (where they said they didn't know what was wrong with me so they drew blood for lab tests) I headed to Walker Lab to work for a bit, and then to Wads, the dorm. Panhel had a table set up to encourage women to sign up (mostly freshman). Each sorority had to do it on a rotational basis, so I ended up with Friday because it was the only time I could work. We talked to one person the whole time. But it was okay. I then went home and made some food for myself the did some homework before relaxing for the rest of the night.

Saturday I slept in a bit, and when I woke up I did a bit more homework. Then I got ready for our Triangle social, which is a fraternity on campus. We went to Hancock beach and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs and had cupcakes for Fran's birthday. It was a lot of fun. I brought my camera too, so I was behind the lens most of the time when I wasn't eating. But when I got home and put them all on Facebook, five people (four sisters and one triangle) changed their profile photos to my photos! I felt proud. Then I did some more homework and some Alpha Gam stuff before making myself some dinner. Later that night, the Triangle's had invited us over to their house for a "get together", so three of my sisters and I went as a thank you for the social during the day. Well, when we got there, they didn't know we were invited. Apparently their social forgot to tell them and was at a movie. Needless to say, it was really awkward. I ended up playing pool with the brothers as two of my sisters played darts and the third watched. It ended up being okay though, because I met a brother who was in Alicante, Spain this summer! He spent a week in Madrid before his program started, so we talked about that most of the time.

Then Bethany and I headed over to Sig Tau Semi-formal. It was pretty fun, I hung out with my sisters and talked to the few Sig Tau's I actually knew. One of the Sig Tau's that I knew had invited a girl who didn't know anyone, so he introduced her to me as we were talking. Then he left, so Jenny (the girl) and I talked for a bit longer, since I really didn't know anyone and my sisters had disappeared. We chatted about Delta Zeta for a few minutes, since she complained that they were staring at her and whispering about her. I said they were like that, and mentioned that I was in a sorority. She said she didn't expect that, because I wasn't all drunk and loud. That made me happy, I'm breaking the stereotypes! I left around midnight though.

Sunday I had an EC (executive council) meeting for Alpha Gams. It lasted long because we had some discussions and then a vote about something. It ended up okay though, it all worked out. Then I hung out a bit and did a little bit of homework and Alpha Gam stuff before going to Panhel at 5 with our representatives. It was good because I found out how many women signed up for Formal Recruitment; 44. So that's better than we were thinking. Beka, Rebecca and I headed home after that for chapter dinner. It was chicken pot pie and delicious. Then I headed right to volleyball. It was fun again, and I think the first time I went without Jessi, because she was having a birthday dinner with her boyfriend. After practice I ran home from the SDC. It was fun, and I didn't have to stop and walk at all! I think it was only about a mile though.

Monday was work, then classes, nothing too unusual there. After classes I managed to print off a lot of brochures for Alpha Gams for our Formal Recruitment round that night. Then I headed home and made some food, while I put my laundry in. I did some homework mixed with more Alpha Gam stuff for that night after I ate while I was waiting for my laundry. We had meeting an hour early so we could get to Fisher early to set up and decorate. It kind of turned into a debate about homecoming and which orgs we would do it with. Basically whether we should get rid of a dying tradition or start new ones. Then we headed to Fisher. We got all set up and everyone helped, which was great! It was a lot of help to me. Then everything went pretty smoothly. I forgot to show everyone how to make the bookmarks, so that was a little speed bump in the first round, and then I forgot to grab name tags for the sisters, but other than that it was all well! We had some good conversations and the girls seemed to like us. I had printed out 25 brochures, and we had 28 girls come through, so it was a pretty perfect number. I think we had about two left over? So it went better than I was expecting. Then I went home and ate dinner.

Yesterday morning was my follow-up doctors appointment. They gave me the test results but siad they were still waiting on one and essentially didn't know what was wrong with me. I had an EKG done too, which I've never had before (that I can remember). Surprise, it was all normal. Their new guess is that I have an ear infection, so they gave me a nasal decongestant? They also said my iron is a bit low. That's all they know. Then I was about ten minutes late to class, but I talked to the professor after and apologized for coming in late, but she didn't really care. My second class was good, we went over our resumes and cover letters. After class I edited them on the computer I also printed out some more brochures and papers for Thursday's rotations. Then I headed home in the rain. I made some orange chicken stir-fry and then cleaned up. Then, I took a nap. I was so tired and it was so cold. It was only an hour though, then I got up and did my dish day before doing a lot of reading for homework. Then I took a shower, did some more reading in bed, and then went to sleep.

Today is going to be a loooong day. I got called into work early so I can work register. Then I'll go to all of my classes, and after institutions I'll eat my lunch and head to my Blue Key office hours, and read during them so I can finish my homework (hopefully). Then I'll go to my last class of the day, and then walk home. I'll eat dinner, and then probably do some more homework. Oh boy.

Find My Acorns

Game Idea

for Husky Game Development

“Find My Acorns”

My idea for a game is simple. It’s a spin off the traditional hide and seek game, popular for young children. Meet _____, a squirrel that users can name themselves. During the fall, he went around the forest, hiding his nuts to prepare for the winter. However, due to an accident involving a fallen tree limb during a windy day, the squirrel cannot remember where he hid his nuts. The user must control the squirrel, jumping from tree to tree, scurrying from bush to bush, stone to stone, searching for the hidden nuts before the winter comes, and time runs out.

But the user must beware, this is no normal forest. The evil woodpeckers of the forests have placed booby traps in the trees. Some of their pecked trees have been transformed into transports, black holes which take the squirrel to the other end of the forest. If the squirrel can remember which trees lead where, it could be a great advantage. However, if the squirrel cannot remember which trees lead where, he could be left dazed and disoriented.

The evil woodpeckers are not the only foes of the squirrel, fighting to prepare for the cold, harsh winter ahead. There are many wind storms, dropping tree limbs which the squirrel must dodge at every turn. Not only the limbs have been affected; the leaves have been falling at a rapid rate, creating a hazy storm which the squirrel cannot easily see through. This little squirrel must fight against all odds to find his hidden acorns – all before time runs out.

Refresher

Well, where did I leave off? Last Thursday I helped with clean up of the blood drive. It was pretty fun again, and for doing so, Rachel gave us each a box of ice cream for our houses. Well, there were three boxes in my box. So we have a lot of ice cream - still. Then Friday we had K-Day, short for Keweenaw Day, where all student orgs can sign up for an informational table at a park to get more members. It was okay, I got a free walking taco and realized how hard it is to eat it from a bag haha.

Then we left for the annual AGD retreat at 6. We went to Agate Beach with the intent of camping. We set up the tents, put our stuff inside, made the fire, etc. We roasted hot dogs, told stories, ate some s'mores. A few sisters went swimming before eating, and I took pictures with my camera. I got some cool photos of the sun and the fire. I also spilled ketchup on my lens... Oops. But it cleaned up fine and didn't get inside the camera, just the surface. It was so windy by about nine thirty that our tents were literally not standing up anymore, so we packed up and headed back to the house. Saturday wasn't too memorable, just a normal, lazy day.

Sunday evening I had two meetings. First, I went to the panhel meeting, which is the governing body for all sororities on campus. I heard the rules for formal recruitment this year and more of the plans. My advisor came with us to the meeting, and us Alph Gams stayed after and talked, straightened things out. We're getting nervous for how things are going to go, but I don't want to worry about it quite yet. Then my second meeting was the Blue Key meeting. I basically signed in, got a t-shirt, met my group and left. Then I went back and slept.

Monday morning I had work, so I went in. Apparently Judy didn't know there was even a schedule, so maybe I can hope for a few more hours? I also sent a package in the mail! Then I headed to classes, which were pretty much uneventful. I did, however, speak OUT LOUD in Spanish class. I was proud of myself, and I think Talia was surprised, because she was my professor last spring and I didn't talk at all. Then institutions seems like its going to be painfully boring.

Then I killed time until our Monday meeting by making a PowerPoint for formal recruitment. Meeting was long and informative, but my report, the recruitment one, was the longest because the only thing we have coming up is formal recruitment. After meeting I did some homework and went to bed.

Tuesday, yesterday, I spent my morning working on the PowerPoint again. Then I headed to class. I don't think I'm going to like my business class. It's so... Basic? I guess. My STC class isn't bad though. After classes I headed home to eat some lunch/dinner around 3:30, then headed back to campus for my 5 o'clock meeting for Order of Omega, my Greek honor society. Our eboard met with our adisor and Rachel Wussow (who I'm seeing a lot of these days) to talk about our year. I'm excited, because we are doing a LOT compared to past years. Plus, I'm in line for either VP or president at elections for next year.

My second meeting was with the recruitment chair of panhel to talk about the plans Alph Gams has for this year. My president and advisor were there too, as was the advisor of panhel. It confused a lot of things for formal recruitment, but our events are set, so hopefully all ends up going well. We also found out we can give out informational brochures to the potential new members. So when I got home I started designing one. Then I went to bed.

This morning I worked on the brochure some more before heading to campus for my classes. I got free taffy in my marketing class (the one with Beka) because our professor owns a candy shop. Then my Spanish class wasn't bad. Institutions was boring again. Then I talked to mom on the phone, and headed to the MUB. I spent about a half hour working on my brochure before heading to my Blue Key office hours, which start today. After my office hours, I will go to my last class; Husky Game Development, and then to a Panhel social to promote the sororities on campus as a whole. Then I'll head home for dinner and homework.

Oh, that's the other thing I forgot, my husky game development class, which is actually an enterprise, had an assignment due Sunday. I had to think of a game idea. Now, anyone who knows me knows I don't play video games. That being said, I had a tough time thinking of one. My sister Lindsay, who graduated, came up with the idea, and then Katelyn and I elaborated on it, with me putting in the graphics and wording it. It's a pretty cool idea, actually. I'll post another blog with the text.

Fantabulistic Day

Well, I just made up a new word. Fantabulisitc. That's what my day was. It was fabulous and fantastic. Let me start at the beginning. I woke up at 7 and didn't have any problem getting into the bathroom (I share with five other girls). Then I walked to campus with Beka and Katelyn, who are the two sisters that live in the basement. (If I do move out of the Red Room, I'll move in with them.) Then I worked the Blood Drive. I had the 8am to 10am shift, which was set up, so we moved all the furniture in one of the rooms in the library, hauled in all the beds, all the boxes of supplies, etc. It wasn't too bad. I was working with Aaron, one of the DU's, which was pretty fun too. He's one of my favorites. However, the Red Cross forgot the bags to collect blood with, so we were delayed. I ended up staying an extra hour to help out with more set up and... wait for it... to drive a GOLF CART through CAMPUS passing out free ICE CREAM. It was so awesome! I went with Austin, who I met today and found out was a Sig Ep.

He's really outgoing and loud, so I drove the cart while he shouted "Blood drive, library, 12-6, free ice cream" and passed them out. It worked well. I saw a lot of people that I knew too, which was really fun because I didn't know I knew so many people. I also learned volunteering really does have it's benefits, because not only did I get to drive the golf cart on campus, I also got 2 free wraps and a free sandwich. Since we were postponed four hours (due to the bags we didn't start until 2, when I got back from class), there was a lot of extra food, so if we didn't eat it, it would be thrown away. So that was my lunch today.

Then I went to class at 11. Marketing. It seems like it's going to be fun, I like the professor, and Beka's in the class with me so we're sharing a book, which is always good, and Beka always makes everything fun. Then I went to Spanish. I was so uber proud of myself today in this class. First, I was about seven minutes early, but the back of the class was full, it's hard to explain, but there's six tables set up in the back, then a U shaped one in the front, but on a lower level so you have to go down steps. Well I sat in the last back seat, because I was too timid to move to the front. But after a few minutes, I moved! It's the little things I guess. Then we went over the syllabus for a few minutes, and then Talia had us do a test to see if we were in the right level (aka whether she thinks we can handle the workload or not). Well, the front page was a short story and the back was comprehension and interpretation questions. I was able to understand the story and answer all the questions in Spanish. In about ten minutes. When I left the class (passing all the people at the tables) I saw other papers, most students were about halfway done. I felt proud of myself.

Then I went to Institutions. Not much to say other than I think it'll be boring. Then after that I went back to the Blood Drive, because Rachel (the woman in charge of it and coordinating the volunteers) was freaking out because she didn't know if she'd have enough people. I stayed until my next class at 5. The bags got there just after I did, so we had work to do then. I talked to one of the girls on my broomball team while she donated and she thanked me and said I really helped her by talking to her and distracting her, so I felt good about myself too. Plus I got another free sandwich when I left at 5. 

I went to Husky Game Development after and it seems like it's going to be good. I'm not completely sure how it'll work since I'm not a CS major, but we'll wait and see. I think I'll be doing a lot of the marketing and advertising aspects of the games, as well as the written documentation for them. I'm actually pretty excited to potentially get some real-life experience with technical writing and marketing. Then I came home!

On Track

Well, today was a very productive day and a good day. I woke up early to head to campus to meet with Evie, my academic advisor. I am now on track (and was on track) to graduate in 2014. Plus I now have a Media Certificate added to my degree. I am doing good. I spent an hour in her office talking about where I'm headed and about internships and everything. So I'm doing really well as far as school and my degree audit. Then I headed to the lab and cleared out all my files from last year.

I then headed to meet my minor advior to make sure everything from Spain went well and I'm on track from that. So that's all taken care of and I am in my last Spanish class this semester. My minor will be done in December (provided I don't fail)! That's exciting. I then ate my peanut butter and jelly sammich and headed to work. It was a great day at work too. The five hours flew by! I also got two more work shirts, which I don't really need, but I guess I'll take. I also got two new textbooks for my STC class. I've been working at the bookstore for two years now, and one book has been in the entry way since then, and whenever I have a lull, I leaf through the book. It's a design book, so it's been interesting. Well, it is now required for my class, so I can justify buying it now! So that was my productive stuff.

After work I came home and chatted with Katelyn, my sister, and read my new design book. Then I ate dinner and sat in the living room. The excitement for the night, Amanda came over and talked with us a bit. She lives in the dorms because she gets free room and board though her job. Then Sonya came home and we talked with her for a while. Then Emily came home! It's amazing to have people back in the house with us! And it's not just Elizabeth and I on the second floor anymore. It was exciting.

Welp

Since I got such great feedback on Dreaming in Spanish, I decided to start keeping a regular blog, so alla you old folks can keep tabs on me and what I've been up to! So far I've moved back in. I am now all organized, as I made my bed earlier today (which was no small feat with these lofts!). Elizabeth, my roommate that is here in Houghton, hasn't made much progress on moving in, but since it doesn't interfere with my corner, I am a-ok with that! I have also spent some time chatting with the sisters that are here in Houghton already. I am very much ready to start the school year and get things kicking!

I have also cooked some meals, and I will say I missed the Alph Gam kitchen. It doesn't get much better than that, I'll say. I cooked onion, pepper, and asparagus for the first time today. That was my proud achievement. I, however, did not leave the house today, except to return a CS book to the person who lent it to me back in the fall. It was a really nice day out, the Sig Tau's were all on their deck (across the street) playing corn hole and grilling. It was a nice summer day. I don't have much more left, so I should probably start enjoying them while I can.

I also go back to work tomorrow! I wasn't supposed to start until September 1st, but Beckie said she had to let someone go, so she wanted to see if I would take the shifts he left behind. I said, OF COURSE! I've been bored out of my mind here, since the sisters that are here work on campus for orientation and aren't usually around during the day. So that's exciting. I don't work until noon either, so I'll have plenty of time to get my lazy butt up and go running.

For now, though, I do believe that's it. I will hopefully post at least once a week, but we'll see once I start keeping a regular schedule with school, Alph Gams, work, Blue Key, Order of Omega, and the STC Student Chapter. Plus a social life. Yikes!